Chronicles of Shattered Border
by LucentZinogre
Summary: The border between the worlds of canon and fanon Gensokyo has been breached! The three most put-upon of Gensokyo's residents must face their fanon selves and put things back the way they were. Inspired by Organization VI's amazing "Those Lacking Spines".
1. Chapter 1: A Land of Many Illusions

Chapter 1: A Land of Many Illusions Indeed

Far, far away, across the sea, there is a fabled land that people speak of as a place of enchantment and wonder, of magical beings of myriad shapes and sizes. A place where one can make their wildest dreams come true.

And by that, we in America are of course referring to Japan. But Gensokyo is kinda like that.

Except for the whole "making your wildest dreams come true" bit. Many Gensokyo residents tend to believe they got a bit of a bum deal. Take for example, the lone miko of a weathered Shinto shrine to a little-known goddess. This miko's name is Reimu Hakurei, and she is easily recognizable by her red and white robe– an outfit which she owns seven copies of, one for each day of the week. Now, despite her shrine's lowly stature and severe lack of funding, she continually finds herself as the designated heroine. Mind you, she never ASKED for the duty of subjugating every single yōkai that causes trouble to constantly fall on her head. You'd think a miko as regrettably unpopular as her would only need to clear out the average low-level troublesome yōkai now and again, rather than continually face down vampires and goddesses and Lunarians, oh my. But so it is. Sometimes Reimu wishes there were other mikos around to share some of the workload now and then.

As a matter of fact, there does exist another, and she will be one of the heroines of this particular story. This other miko goes by the name Sanae Kochiya. If a green-haired girl ever showed up at your door asking if you had time to talk about our Lords and Saviors Kanako and Suwako, that was probably some insane cosplayer pretending to be her. In contrast to Reimu, Sanae is generally cheerful– probably a result of being the miko of the prosperous and prestigious Moriya Shrine: home of two goddesses, and rumored to be the Illuminati of Gensokyo. Ask anyone about Sanae, and they'll probably tell you that she is a "good girl". Of course, people have derived all sorts of meanings from that particular quote, but we're not covering that at the moment. On this fine day, Sanae was visiting the Hakurei Shrine, as she often tended to do. Reimu was out front performing her daily ritual of sweeping the steps of the shrine and checking the perpetually-empty donation box when Sanae arrived.

"Why are you here again?" Reimu asked her.

"Do you resent my visiting?"

"It's just... you do know this does nothing for my shrine's faith, don't you?" Reimu explained.

"Actually, I presumed that endorsement by the Moriya Shrine would help spread your reputation." Sanae replied with a genuine smile on her face.

"Forgive me for saying this, but people seem to be more interested in you than me."

"PRAISE BE TO LADY KANAKO!" one of the Moriya Shrine's fanbo– er, _devotees_ shouted in agreement, toward which Reimu shot a glare.

"Well... Actually, I came here because Chen was at the shrine, and she told me that Ran told her that Yukari told Ran that she was looking for you." Sanae explained.

Reimu tilted her head as she tried to decipher Sanae's convoluted statement. "...What was she doing at your shrine, then? Did she somehow get us two mikos mixed up?"

"Probably." Sanae shrugged.

"And– okay, could you say the first part again?"

"Yukari's looking for you." Sanae replied, deciding it would be better not to confuse Reimu further.

"...Wait, if she was looking for me, why couldn't she just find me herself? Why this runaround? Is she really too lazy to–"

Reimu's words were cut off by her falling into an unmistakable gap that appeared under her feet.

* * *

Flash forward to about a week later. When we resume, we arrive in the Land of the Dead, at a mansion known as Hakugyokurou– that's pronounced "HAH-koo-GYO-ku-roh", for those of you who are wondering. Hakugyokurou is the home of the ruler of the Netherworld, Yuyuko Saigyouji– that's pronounced "Sy-gyo-jee"– but this story's not about her. No, our heroine is a powerful half-ghost samurai warrior who serves her. A disciple of the legendary swordsman Youki, capable of moving at the speed of light and destroying ten ghosts in one slash. This warrior's name is Youmu Konpaku. And she would like to make it clear that her name is not pronounced "you moo."

Anyway.

Youmu serves as the gardener of Hakugyokurou, using her blade skills to destroy weeds and prune protruding branches. Hey, those thousands of cherry trees aren't gonna tend themselves. Youmu is intensely dedicated to her lady Yuyuko– a loyal samurai through and through– and will give her all in any task given to her. It is because of this that she is extremely gullible and prone to being manipulated. Popular opinion is that this is a sign of weakness and is a just reason to minimize her badass swordsmanship into a pile of weak, cowardly fluff.

Today, she had just finished her watering the flowers outside Hakugyokurou, and was now performing a flyover patrol of the area. After the Saigyou Ayakashi Incident, Yuyuko had made it a point to beef up security so nobody else could break in to the Netherworld without permission. Well, sort of– really, she just put Youmu on regular patrol duty, which was a bit redundant, as Youmu would catch on to any intruder and intercept them as quick as a flash by default. _And we haven't HAD an intruder since the Saigyou Ayakashi Incident anyway_ , Youmu thought to herself. She couldn't relax too much, but she at least found it enjoyable to fly through the warm spring air.

She suddenly noticed an unfamiliar figure at the gate, and was there faster than you could say _"Human Sword: Delusion Of Enlightenment"_.

"Stop! Who are you, and what business have you with Lady Yuyuko?" said Youmu as authoritatively as possible, her sword at the ready.

"I'm Sanae Kochiya of the Moriya Shrine!" said a somewhat startled Sanae. "And I received an invitation from Yuyuko earlier today." She showed Youmu a letter stamped with Yuyuko's signature.

"Lady Yuyuko almost never invites people here– especially humans. If she called you here, it's probably important. Come with me." Youmu motioned for Sanae to follow her. As the two made their way up the thousands and thousands of stairs leading to Hakugyokurou– by flying, of course, how else– they took the chance to get caught up.

"It's been a lot of extra work for me ever since Reimu disappeared..." lamented Sanae. "I think the yōkai know we're short-staffed, and so they know they can get away with causing more trouble."

Youmu looked a bit worried. "And I doubt the shrine is in very good shape..."

"At least my official endorsement of the Hakurei Goddess seems to be keeping the faith alive," said Sanae. "Of course, Lady Kanako told me that a year or so ago, she would have leaped at the chance to take the Hakurei Shrine's faith for herself..."

"She sounds like an unpleasant person."

"I prefer the term... 'ambitious'. But that's all in the past now."

Soon enough, the two girls arrived at Hakugyokurou, where Yuyuko was there to meet them.

"Lady Yuyuko, I present Sanae Kochiya of the Moriya Shrine." They both bowed before Yuyuko.

"What a pleasure to have you. Now come in; we can discuss this over tea..."

* * *

Soon the tea was boiling and the table set.

"...Lady Yuyuko, we appear to have two empty seats," commented Youmu.

"Indeed, you are right. I was expecting two more... However, they do not seem to be here."

As soon as Yuyuko said this, an unmistakable portal, filled with unblinking purple eyes and bound by red ribbons, opened up in the doorway. Out of it stepped two figures: a girl with nine fluffy fox tails, and Yukari Yakumo.

Now, I know for a fact that you already know Yukari. But I believe the fox girl here deserves an introduction, as she is our third heroine of this story. Her name is Ran Yakumo, and despite being an EX-boss, she tends to be overshadowed by her mistress Yukari to the extent that her own fandom barely notices her– except, of course, the residents of e621, but we're not going there. Being a Kyūbi no Kitsune, Ran is one of the wisest, most intelligent beings in Gensokyo, and in fact once somehow created an equation for perfectly calculating the width of the Sanzu River– which, need I remind you, changes based on how much money you pay Komachi. It's a testament to Yukari's power that she's able to keep such a being as her shikigami.

And I highly suspect that the only words you paid attention to in that last paragraph were "Yukari", "Yukari", and "Yukari". So, back to the story.

"Good evening, my friend."

"Likewise, Yuyuko. Ah, I see the tea is all ready..." Yukari and Ran took their seats.

"Yukari, I have several things I wish to ask you..." said Sanae.

"First, however– now that we are all gathered here– I would like to explain what has happened to Reimu," answered Yukari as if reading Sanae's mind.

"What?" asked the two younger girls.

Yukari took a breath. "I... was experimenting one day, and I accidentally created a link that connects to a collection of thousands upon thousands of different worlds."

Sanae looked stunned. Youmu was contemplating what she had just heard. The author checked option C on the forbidden template.

"What kinds of worlds are these?" Youmu asked.

"Alternate versions of our very own Gensokyo, containing countless doubles of us. It seems they are affected and created by humans in the outside world."

Being from the human world originally, Sanae was quite intrigued by this revelation indeed.

Yukari continued. "I sensed _something_ in there, something that is trying to find its way into our Gensokyo. And if it gets here, well, that can't be good. So I sent Reimu in to investigate, but it turns out my border powers don't reach into the alternate realm. She just disappeared off the radar– I couldn't track her and I couldn't pull her out."

Sanae was looking worried. Youmu was wondering what a "radar" was.

"I think I may have made a mistake sending in someone as high-profile as her. So that is why I have called you two here. Your mission is to enter the alternate realm, locate Reimu, and report back. Recover her if at all possible."

"She thinks we're 'low-profile'?" Sanae whispered to Youmu.

"Now, you won't be going alone, because Ran is going along with you."

Ran looked surprised. "Mistress Yukari, I am honored to assist in this mission. However, I would appreciate it if you would tell me these details of your plans _before_ they are put into motion..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Yukari answered. "Now, while you are in the alternate realm, you will likely come across your doubles. This carries the risk of possible failure to tell the difference between your real friend and your fake friend. Therefore, I want all three of you to wear these around your left wrists," Yukari said, producing three purple strips of cloth and handing them to our heroines, who tied them on to their arms as instructed.

"And one more thing: If someone wants to fight... teach them a lesson."

"Will do," Youmu replied.

"Any objections?" Yukari asked. The three shook their heads.

"Wonderful. Because your mission begins in 3... 2... 1..."

She snapped her fingers, and a massive portal appeared in the floor, and sucked Youmu, Ran, and Sanae into a dark tunnel to worlds unknown to all but the twisted minds of humans

 _I feel like we just got ourselves into something very bad,_ Sanae thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2: Scroll of the Fandom Night

**Finally, the second chapter is up! Sorry I took so long to update, but college has been taking up most of my time. Anyway, here it is!  
**

* * *

 **Stage 1: Scroll of the Fandom Night ~ Memetic Flyer**

Portalspace.

It was not a very pleasant place—an infinite void of swirling purple and black, with countless eyes staring at you. Needless to say, Yukari doesn't mind one bit, though—that might as well be her incarnate form. Usually Yukari's portals transport the user instantly, but she does have a tendency to hide in them to spy on people, and this is what it looks like inside. And seeing as our three heroines were bound on a trip across dimensions, the journey took a bit longer than normal.

Our heroines found themselves tumbling through portalspace for several seconds before landing with a crash in a nondescript grassy field, suitable for a Level 1.

" _Ow!_ Ran, my Myon is not for softening landings!"

"I apologize, but Miss Kochiya is standing on my tails."

"Sorry… Are you two okay?"

The three managed to un-pile themselves, and examined their surroundings.

"This… still looks like Gensokyo," Youmu commented.

Ran's ears twitched uneasily. "Yes, but stay alert. Something feels… wrong about this place. This is certainly the Pseudo-Gensokyo Yukari spoke of."

"So, our mission is to find Reimu, right?" Youmu asked. "Where should we begin?"

"If this place is identical to our Gensokyo, I believe the Hakurei Shrine would be a logical starting point," proposed Ran.

"I see the Yōkai Mountain off that way, so the Hakurei Shrine should be… _that_ way." Sanae pointed in the direction of a forested area nearby.

"Let us be off, then." The three started down the path into the forest.

* * *

The Forest of Magic.

It was a place that lived up to its name—a forest that contained much magic. The Forest of Magic is the home of many mischievous yōkai and fairies, and most notably, the location of the houses of Marisa Kirisame and Alice Margatroid. Yes, they will show up in the story eventually. No, they are not coming into play at the present moment. Be patient, folks. In the meantime, Ran was continually having to stop to pick leaves out of her fluffy tails, and Sanae had been smacked in the face by multiple branches already, so Youmu decided to lead the way and clear protruding branches with her swords for their convenience.

"Remind me why we're taking the 'scenic route' again, Ran?" asked Youmu as she cleanly severed a particularly thick, knobbly limb.

"I had considered flying, but remember we are in unfamiliar territory. We would do well to avoid attracting unneeded attention," Ran explained.

"She has a point," said Sanae. "And Yukari did make it clear that remaining low-profile would be important…"

Youmu grumbled and swiftly bisected a suicidally gutsy fairy who had decided to fly up to the group and fire off a few close-range shotgun blasts. The fairy would respawn bearing a crippling phobia of gardeners and marshmallow fluff.

"Satisfied?"

"Yes."

The three continued their trek through the forest until Youmu stopped dead.

In front of them, wreathed in an aura of swirling darkness, was a girl in a black dress, hovering with her arms stretched out as if to block the path.

"Hahaha! This is the end for you!" Rumia shouted, a deceptively cheerful look on her face.

Youmu made to draw her swords, but Ran stopped her. "I would advise you to move aside. There are three of us and only one of you. Attacking us will only result in disappointment," she told Rumia.

Nevertheless, Rumia charged at our heroines… who all quickly took one step to the side, causing her to overshoot her charge and crash headfirst into a tree at full speed.

"Poor thing…" Sanae commented, looking at the unconscious Rumia, who had collided so hard that her hair ribbon had fallen off.

"At least she seems relatively normal, judging from the few times I have seen her," said Ran. "Apparently, she cannot see through her own dark aura."

"We'd better keep moving. We have to get to the shrine."

"Right, Youmu. Let's go," said Sanae, and they proceeded down the path once again.

* * *

The Hakurei Shrine.

It was not very different from the original—read: just as weathered and visibly lacking public funding.

As the heroines approached, Reimu was nowhere to be found. Ran was swishing her tails nervously. "I sense danger nearby. We should investigate the shrine… but be careful."

They entered the shrine and began their search. No sign of Reimu in the main room… no sign of her in her bedroom… no sign of her in the donation box… no sign of her anywhere. With that, they turned to leave, and very nearly jumped out of their skins.

Reimu was standing in the doorway. Only… she wasn't normal. She had a look of pure hatred in her eyes, the likes of which few had ever seen from her.

"Reimu… Is that you?" asked Sanae.

"Well, well, well. Two filthy pieces of yōkai scum and the whore of Gensokyo herself, snooping around my shrine. And no, I will not sleep with you, Sanae, no matter how much you ask me," Reimu spat.

Sanae stood there speechless, utterly shocked at what her friend was saying. Youmu drew her swords and stepped in between the two of them. "Who are you and what have you done with Reimu Hakurei?!" she shouted.

"What are you talking about? I AM Reimu Hakurei. You, on the other hand, have no business being here. I thought I had beaten you and your friends senseless enough last time, but apparently not. Nice to see you finally grew the guts to put up a fight this time, though…"

"Damn right I have. You're going to pay for insulting Sanae!"

Just as it seemed like blood was about to fly, Ran suddenly had a realization. Quick as a flash, she pulled a coin out of her pocket and flicked it Michael Jackson-style into Reimu's donation box, where it landed with a _**CLINK**_ that seemed to bring time to a standstill and echo throughout Gensokyo with the impact of an event that had not occurred for as long as anyone in Gensokyo could remember.

Reimu immediately backed off and simply stared into the donation box, seemingly completely overwhelmed at the concept of finally having money. And quicker than you could say "Fantasy Heaven", our three heroines were in the sky, far, far away from the Hakurei Shrine, not daring to look back.

"Okay… what in all of the hells was that?!" said Youmu.

Ran began to explain. "That, Miss Konpaku, was the version of Reimu Hakurei native to Pseudo-Gensokyo. Yukari did warn us that we would meet doubles of ourselves and our friends here."

"But why was she… so…" Sanae was at a loss for words.

"This version of Reimu seems to embody all of Reimu's negative traits increased tenfold. This includes her enmity toward yōkai, and her greed."

"So that's why your trick with the coin worked… Is that what we're up against in this world? Our dark sides?"

"I doubt it's as simple as that," said Ran. "However, I'm afraid we must continue our search. I fear what others we may encounter, though… We were able to avoid a fight this time, but I doubt we will be so lucky in the future."

"Well, come what may, anything or anyone that threatens us will be cut down by my swords!" said a very determined Youmu.

"There is one thing I simply must know:" Sanae remarked. "Why did she call me 'the whore of Gensokyo'?"

Ran exchanged a worried glance with Youmu. "Knowing what we now know, I have a horrifying idea of why that may be. But to know for certain, we will have to travel to the Moriya Shrine."

"Let's do that. I dearly hope everyone at our shrine is still… sane…" said a worried Sanae.

"And this time, we are _flying_ there," said Youmu.

* * *

 **Hoo boy. Fandom!Reimu. Not pleasant. This isn't the last we'll see of her, either.**

 **On the other hand, writing the little Rumia encounter was quite amusing. Somehow she's even more adorably incompetent in fandom, and I don't really mind that. XD**


End file.
